A Lock of Promises
by ChrisSoAnime
Summary: Marika is the Locket's key holder. Chitoge is his well known girlfriend and now fully accepts that she loves him. Where does Onodera fit into all of it? She's certain that it is nowhere in Raku's heart. But after a desperate confession in an empty classroom, Onodera finds his lips on hers. They find the emotions held for each other and discard the old lock, creating a new promise.


"W-What did you S-Say O-Onedera-chan? I-I d-don't think I h-heard right." Raku said rather shakily. Onodera stood in front of him, head down in shame. Her face turning thirty different shades of crimson.

She said it.

She confessed her love to him.

FLASHBACK, TWENTY MINUTES AGO...

"Onodera-Chan! Why are you so distracted? Are you listening?" Chitoge complained. Kosaki had been quite distracted that day. Could be school stress, or Marika's constant presence around Raku. It was only yesterday that they finally had a bold alone moment and they found that Kosaki's key was not the one to Raku's locket.

The two had met after school was over and decided to walk about. They had a lovely conversation, speaking of their school assignments and after school plans, even laughing along the way. She felt happy, even a little brave, and discreetly led him to her secret balcony area down that alleyway. She kept him talking so that he didn't know where they were until they got there. The two stood at the edge, admiring the city with smiles in silence. Her bravery and emotions grew, until she slid over and placed her hand on his. She immediately felt the heat build in her face, but neither spoke or pulled away.

Raku turned to look at her, and before he could speak, she linked with his hand and pressed into his chest gently.

"Raku. We promised ten years ago. I just know it." She spoke, the words tumbling out before she could stop them, clutching the key that hung around her neck.

Raku saw her gripping the key, and lifted his locket. The two stood for a moment as the wind blew around them.

Kosaki was able to put the key in, and was happy for a moment, but then the key would not turn.

It would enter, but couldn't unlock the pendant.

She was crushed. She believed that no matter what Marika said, that she would be the one that made the promise. But Marika had been right all along.

She knew this because while the two walked home, Kosaki being unbearably sad and Raku feeling the same, Marika ran up. Marika walked and was all floaty and happy with Raku and that just made it worse. But she had been wearing her own silver key and saw the pendant and decided that it would be PERFECT to test it at that very moment.

For Kosaki to be crushed from realizing she wasn't the promise girl, to watching the red headed stranger be the destined girl for Raku?

That was devastating.

She had excused herself at that time and ran home crying. She had stopped when she reached her house, but couldn't stop the sadness that flowed in her veins like lead.

The next day, the disappointment followed her into school. She saw Marika hanging around Raku, as the two had opened the locket and looked at its contents... a ring. One for a wedding to be precise. Raku was unhappy and appeared to be in a state of unrest. Chitoge wasn't happy either, Kosaki couldn't tell if it was from jealousy or a personal disdain for the woman.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I am distracted... it was because... Marika opened his locket yesterday, and-" Kosaki said, visibly getting more upset as she recalled the event.

"Enough. Say no more about it." Ruri said in her monotone voice, but her expression showing concern. Chitoge seemed in disbelief at first, then irritated. Kosaki, again, was unsure of why.

"Okay class! The bell is about to go off! So make sure you all go home safe and prepare for tomorrow's test! Have a good day!" The substitute teacher for that day spoke, and right as she finished, the bell went off, signaling the end of that school day.

"Goodbye my sweetheart, I will see you again tomorrow." Marika said, kissing an uncomfortable Raku on the cheek, and flashing a gloating look at Kosaki and Chitoge.

Raku stood and wiped his cheek with a sleeve, not wanting a trace of her on him. He felt terrible enough for Kosaki seeing the whole ordeal of the locket finally being unlocked, but he also didn't love Marika.

Chitoge grabbed her bag, and quickly stormed out of the room angrily, not even bidding farewell to her 'Boyfriend' Raku.

"Make your move. Now. You won't get another chance after this. This is now or you'll never get him!" Ruri said before briskly walking out, leaving only Raku, whom had taken his time gathering his things, and a terrified Kosaki.

How could she possibly tell him how?

Raku began to leave when the words began to blurt out.

"Ichijou-San! WAIT!" She blurted out. Raku was not ready to talk with her after the previous day, but didn't want to upset her.

"Look... I know what happened. And I'm sorry. So... let's just... move on from that. I'm sorry that happened to you." Raku said, turning to get out of the situation.

"No! Wait! Please!" She said. Then the words blurted out in that moment of sheer desperation.

"Raku, I Love You!"

Her hands immediately clapped over her mouth and her face instantly burned her shades red all the way.

He turned slowly and faced her.

FLASHBACK OVER

Kosaki couldn't breathe. She confessed in that classroom with the sun filtering through the windows at them, in a moment of blind panic.

"I-I-I s-said t-t-that I... l-love you I-Ichijou-san." She squeaked. Her voice repeating the words in a almost inaudible squeak of a whisper.

But Raku heard every word.

He didn't speak. Fuck, he didn't even know what words would come if he did! But instead, he walked over and just hugged and held her. Her face was suddenly in his neck and shoulder. She immediately and to her surprise, lost all her shame and embarrassment. She simply buried her face into his neck and hesitantly placed her hands on his back, but quickly began to hug and hold him tightly.

Raku's heart quickened as he felt her soft, and warm lips against the side of his neck. Her breath, and her warm lips... it felt great. Kosaki felt her heart race before testing the water with a risky question.

"Raku... can I touch you?" She asked. Raku, knowing she wasn't the sexual type and that both of them weren't interested in that, replied with; "yeah."

Kosaki heard his consent and ran her hands on his chest, neck, shoulders, and face. Tenderly caressing and stroking all the places on his torso and upper area she wanted. She pushed again, as her desires began to surface.

"Raku... can I kiss you?" She asked.

It was a bit slower this time, and he blushed heavily, but he again replied with; "yeah."

She blushed with him, feeling his heat, feeling his heart race as she placed her hand upon his chest, directly above his heart.

She gently closed her eyes and began to reach on her tiptoes to close the gap between them. She could feel the breath between them as she felt his hands grip her waist and his lips grow closer.

They gently brushed against each other at first. Then they gently made contact, before locking in a tender, gentle and loving kiss.

They kissed into each other a little more, but still gentle. Her hand went into his black and purplish hair. Her hand weaved and ran through the messy and feathery locks as she lost herself in the bliss of the moment. His hands finding a spot on her waist and the other on the small of her back.

The two broke after a solid ten seconds of what Kosaki could only describe as heaven. The pair's faces were so close after the kiss that their cheeks were almost touching as they had their foreheads together, their lips grazing each other ever so slightly as their breaths gained speed, along with their heartbeats.

"I loved you since middle school. You were so beautiful in that green uniform, but nothing like you are now. I adore you." Raku said quietly to her. He didn't stumble on his words. The two were so close and in such passion that their shy attitudes had somehow gone out the window.

"I've loved you since we were kids. Even ten years ago. I just had to be introduced again." She responded at the same volume that Raku did.

"Fuck Marika. Chitoge is not my actual girlfriend, that's for show. So please... be with me." He said to her again, holding her and and almost begging.

"Of course, Raku. Till the end of my days." She said.

And then they kissed again, sending her back into heaven all over again.

Little did they know, a blonde girl was listening.

A blonde girl who also happened to be Raku's fake girlfriend.

And she saw and heard it all.

Of course, how could she not listen in on it after hearing Kosaki shout that she loved the same boy she did?

"You are distressed. What is wrong m'lady?" Tsugumi asked Chitoge that night when she came stomping in, demanding that the hit woman leave the room before burying her face into a pillow.

"Everything, nothing. The whole buggin universe." Chitoge complained, unwilling to share her newfound information. Then Raku spoke clearly in her mind as she recalled him telling her to share things with others to lift the burden.

Well, she had nothing to lose.

"Me and Raku aren't actually dating. We were forced by our dads so that our gangs didn't go to war and kill everyone. Now I'm fucking in love with him and he's with that crazy red head Marika and now him and Onodera-Chan are together and they said they loved each other, Tsugumi. I just... that stupid... stubborn bean sprout..." Chitoge said, her Boise steadily rising as she got upset.

Then started bawling. Seishirou had dealt with a lot of things at once, but that was a lot to process.

She understood not wanting the gangs to war with each other, and that being the cause of her mistress constantly fighting with Ichijou. But him being with another woman... that upset her as well, but not as much as Chitoge. For two reasons;

1: Seishirou had no longer been able to deny she loved the Yakuza heir. Not after everything they all went through, and that dream she had of him, where they had been happily married. She longed for that after the initial shock and it upset her she lost her probable ONLY opportunity to advance.

2: the second reason, is that it heavily weighed on her mistress. Seishirou would stake her life for Chitoge, and to see her cry in heartbreak over the loss of the man she now admitted to loving... it twisted her heart in a way that was terrible and painful at the same time. She never wanted anything bad for her mistress and didn't like seeing her this way.

So while Chitoge cried and wailed, Tsugumi held her and comforted her.

"Mistress! What ails you!?" Claude shouted, opening the doors suddenly.

Chitoge still had tears running down her face, but immediately stopped crying, not wanting to explain to him why she was upset and having to attend Raku's funeral. It wasn't an exaggeration either. Chitoge was truly fearful for Raku's life whenever Claude showed up. Claude openly killed people and had a special hate for Raku... he would not hesitate to kill him.

Then she would lose the man she loved... then her family would go to war with a vengeful Yakuza, where even more people she loved would die.

"N-Nothing! It's over! Tsugumi helped me out! I just had a fight with a friend at school and I was upset. It's okay now, really!" She quickly said, wiping her tears, and praying that her chin wasn't still trembling and that her voice wouldn't break, as she still wasn't done crying.

"So it wasn't that boy!? That boyfriend of yours!?" He demanded, brandishing a pistol.

"No father. It was not him. It is as she says." Seishirou said. Claude calmed himself, trusting his adopted child.

"Okay then. You help her, my son." He said before walking back out, closing the door behind him. She visibly cringed at being called son, as Seishirou was a woman and hated that Claude still believed that she was a boy. She figured her D-Cup breasts would've given it away by now, along with her sexy feminine curves and her feminine facial structure and voice. But he never saw any of that and still believed she was male.

As soon as he was gone, Chitoge broke again, now sobbing into a pillow so that it would be muffled as Seishirou stayed and held her again.

The silence was deadly.

Raku and Onodera had left the school, pressed into each other, hand in hand.

But after they showed up at his house and walking past all the Yakuza members, thankfully having the sense to separate as not to arose suspicion about him and Chitoge, walked to his room. They sat and looked at each other. The boldness they had before had slowly begun to fade and the embarrassment came back as neither could figure out what words to say.

So Onodera finally cleared a topic that bothered her for a while and was necessary to talk about given the circumstance.

"What do you think of Kirisaki-San? Do you have any feelings for her? Perhaps not? O-Or is t-that too much of m-me?" She asked, boiling with embarrassment.

He stopped blushing, before letting a sigh out between his teeth, internally telling himself to be honest.

"I don't know. Some moments, I want to strangle her and beat her senseless. Other moments, all I wanna do is kiss her. It's a back and forth thing... but majority of the time, it's all violence and spite, so I cant really say I have any solid feeling for her. Crumbs, I guess." He responded, quietly waiting on the response.

Onodera smiled. She now knew that they had something after all that time faking it with each other, but he did not feel any strong connection to her. He was safe with her, and she wanted no one else but him.

"Good. Cause I love you. A-and I really w-want you to k-know..." she trailed off. She started strong, but couldn't finish. But Raku, having shook off the embarrassment and only seeing a beautiful woman that he loved in front of him, took her face in his hand.

"Want me to know what?" He said gently, looking her in the eyes.

"That I always wanna kiss you and you make me smile. That I know it will be hard at school, but that I will always care and be there because-" Onodera said, but couldn't finish because Raku's lips were on hers again.

No rough or aggressive kisses. No kinky make outs. Just gentle and loving kisses that gave bliss.

She just gently wrapped her arms around him as he held her face with both hands as he kissed her.

No one interrupted them, and no one heard them. They didn't stop for what was at least 30 minutes. They broke and she pressed into him, breathing quickly in his ear, her breasts swelling against his chest as he felt her racing heart. But she could feel his heart go faster than NASCAR. It beat against her chest as she held him.

The two finally had each other. They both knew they would never be shy around each other again, and that they belonged to each other.

She was his.

And he was hers.


End file.
